Author Description

In Refuge for Cranes, Jerome Gagnon writes at the intersection of inner and outer landscapes, finding refuge in nature, art, and awareness itself. These are poems of wonder and alarm, in awe of the natural world yet full of concern for the harm we do to it, and to ourselves. They range in topic from climate fires and the demise of bees to the "transparency of grace" and "the soul's deep-down unfathoming." There's praise here for beauty, glinting among the detritus, but there's also a call to action, a plea to restore a damaged world. "If you enter these pages, be prepared to open yourself wider to the world, like a flower to the sun," said Phyllis Cole-Dai, author and co-editor of the anthologies, Poetry of Presence I & II." "Gagnon's touching poems remind us of the beauty and value of nature now threatened worldwide by our carelessness," commented George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation.